With The ChowNow Restaurant Rewards Program, you can customize setup to encourage more repeat orders and offer discounts that protect your bottom line. 

Check out these setup tips to help you get the most out of your new rewards program. 

1. Setting the Minimum Order Value

When launching a new rewards program, it’s important to create a frictionless experience for your diners. Align spend requirements to diners’ current habits to drive engagement.

Set the minimum order value slightly below your restaurant’s average online order value (AOV) to encourage as many diners as possible to join your rewards program.With easy enrollment and an enticing offer, you’ll be able to encourage repeat orders from more diners.

You can find your current AOV for online orders within the “Analytics” page of your ChowNow Dashboard.

2. Setting the Sticker Goal

Balance order frequency with perceived value—the goal should be achievable within a reasonable timeframe, and encourage more visits without making the reward feel out of reach.

Higher-margin restaurants can require fewer stickers (5), while lower-margin restaurants may need more punches (8-10) to protect profits.

3. Setting the Reward Discount

We recommend offering a reward that is enticing enough to drive diners to exceed their normal ordering habits. 

The reward discount value should be higher than other discounts that you offer—diners are committing to ordering from you multiple times with this program, and should have a compelling reward to work toward.

For example, if you currently offer a 10% discount on orders through your branded mobile app, or a 15% monthly discount through ChowNow’s Automated Email Marketing, consider setting your Rewards discount to at least 25%.

Choose between a percentage or dollar-off reward.

  • Dollar-off discounts are more predictable, and can feel more valuable to diners on lower-ticket meals.If your average order size is relatively predictable, we recommend a dollar-off discount.
  • Percentage-off discounts may be more appealing for higher spenders, but it’s harder to control the exact impact as reward size increases with ticket size. If orders vary, a percentage-off can be more effective for rewarding bigger spenders.

4. Test & Adjust Setup as Needed

Don’t feel pressured to set up your Rewards Program perfectly from the get-go. It’s easy to make updates and adjustments in your ChowNow Dashboard to optimize performance or align to changing business goals. Here are a few trends to consider:

  • Monitor participation rates and tweak the sticker goal if needed to ensure engagement.
  • If customers are not meeting the required order minimum to earn a sticker, consider lowering the minimum spend requirement.
  • If customers don’t find the reward compelling, consider increasing the discount slightly while ensuring profitability.

You can view program performance and adjust settings within your Dashboard. Access Rewards settings by logging into the Dashboard → selecting a Location → and clicking on Manage Rewards

Please note that any changes made to your program will go into effect for new diners going forward. Diners that enrolled in the program before this change will continue to earn and redeem based on the previous setup.

Example Reward Program Structure Based on Restaurant Type